Could we get some civilians please?

[sirrah]

With the amount of helicopter modules increasing (which is beyond awesome by the way!), somewhere down the line, we could really use some civilian (unarmed) pedestrians

 

As much as I like to just shoot anything that moves, imagine having to identify if someone is carrying a weapon, before engaging 

 

 

I know there's a lot to be done on infantry side... I just wish ED would consider adding some civilian/unarmed units while at it 

 

 

 

EDIT:

As @Northstar98 rightly added, these units should be available in a new civilian "coalition"

Edited September 29, 2021 by sirrah

[Northstar98]

+1, though personally, we also need a civillian "side".

Then again, the whole coalition system in general needs a major rethink, and C:MO really has the best system.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Northstar98
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[Jenson]

Even the ARMA3 doesn't have enough civilian in the cities. I doubt if DCS has the extra computing power to do that. Although it would make the cities more lively. 

[Jenson]

31 minutes ago, Desert Fox said:

 

Could be done in two stages: on one level, like civilian traffic, with no collision or hit model. So needed resources would be quite low. It would just be some ambient effect, walking ghosts, not bothered by anything like bombs, explosions or shrapnel. Could be added by setting up and filling trigger zones for example, with a slider for density and so on.

 

On level two, one could mix with "real" civilians that got a damage model and all the jazz on neuralgic points by hand - like you would with other soldiers or vehicles. With the right mix and distribution, you can have a populated area and still have civilian casualties triggered.

 

It would be an acceptable compromise i think because, like you said, having huge crowds of people with damage model would roast any PC.

 

Agreed, 10 years ago while I was playing the legacy Flaming Cliffs 2, I didn't expect to play a full fidelity hornet on DCS with so realistic scenes and with my VR headset now. In 10 years, we might be playing DCS like in Ready Player One, or at least on a PC with Intel i17 and XTX 9090Ti, plus a 16k resolution 120fps VR headset. At that time, I might refrain to pull the trigger because the "bandits" just look too real in the game. 

[Tank50us]

7 hours ago, Desert Fox said:

Could be done in two stages: on one level, like civilian traffic, with no collision or hit model. So needed resources would be quite low. It would just be some ambient effect, walking ghosts, not bothered by anything like bombs, explosions or shrapnel. Could be added by setting up and filling trigger zones for example, with a slider for density and so on.

 

This I like, and it could be tied in with a special code within the map itself that if military assets enter the red state in a certain proximity of the civies, or something lands in that area, the civilians all run for cover to the nearest building (where the map simply despawns them). It would need some work to make it look right, but I think it would be a viable option as it would also clear the resources for the Michael Bay moments about to go down.

[Aarnoman]

I agree that a civilian coalition plus separate civilian units (people, a few vehicles) would help flesh out a lot of missions and create much more engaging environment requiring some thought before weapon employment. 

[Kang]

Thankfully at this point we can already place neutral country assets in our missions, so there isn't really need for a new coalition. That could possibly be achieved by just creating a 'civilians' country and assigning it corresponding units.

Those units are a different thing, of course. There is a selection of civilian vehicles in DCS already, but what is missing is one or two civilian 'infantry' models.

 

Perhaps I envision things differently from the OP, but I believe we can all agree that there is no need to actually populate the settlements with people wandering around; this would definitely become problematic for some of the major cities around the maps available. But having the ability to put in civilians that are supposed to be part of a mission would definitely be a plus. Be it, as pointed out, that especially helicopter gunners are supposed to check targets, or design missions involving transporting civilians around (see Oilfield campaign or perhaps missions centering on evacuations and the like).

 

In a similar vein, I'd also like to be able to place actual pilots as mission assets. The models and animations do exist after all...

[Griffon26]

I think infantry and civilians of any kind should be more in focus now after the Helicopter releases.

 

IMO they need to improve the KI of infantry (seeking cover, firing while moving, maybe a kind of "fear" where they start running or retreating based on the skill level when the battle goes not so well for them. I don´t know if it´s already possible but looping waypoints would be great too to have some infantry or tanks patrol a certain area.

 

Also adding non combat units would make a great improvement. Maybe someone remembers the good old Comanche 4 game? I liked how there were a few units of ground personel  (mechanic, Coordinator, etc..) which had one or two basic animations. This added real good life to the bases and FARPS. In DCS you could make them freeze while not beeing in a specific area around them to safe some memory.

 

Lets see what ED is up to!

[sirrah]

10 hours ago, Kang said:

 

Perhaps I envision things differently from the OP, but I believe we can all agree that there is no need to actually populate the settlements with people wandering around; this would definitely become problematic for some of the major cities around the maps available.

 

This is not at all differently to my wish

 

I didn't wish for populated cities. Sure that would be nice once we're at DCS 5.0 and we all have RTX9090's 

 

But for now, I'd be happy with just one or two civilian (unarmed) pedestrian units that we can give waypoints/actions.

 

[JABowders]

YES, Civilians that can be actors like the infantry, Transportable/can be used for Civilian Evacuations and SAR Missions (male/female models - casual and business suits) 

[Boosterdog]

21 minutes ago, JABowders said:

YES, Civilians that can be actors like the infantry, Transportable/can be used for Civilian Evacuations and SAR Missions (male/female models - casual and business suits) 

Will require at least one model of a You Tuber making a self promoting video at distaster scenes. Legitimate target for a Zuni.

[upyr1]

this would be awesome especially if we can add rules of engagment.